When a customer makes a purchase from a retail store, he or she typically receives a receipt that itemizes the items purchased and the price of each item. Typically, each item listed on the receipt is identified by a description of the item and a numerical code scanned from the item's price tag that identifies the item to the data processing system and inventory control systems of the company. If the items purchased are charged to a credit card, some portion of the credit card data may be printed on the receipt the customer is given. In many cases, the receipt contains a bar code containing information identifying the credit card number type and expiration date.
Should the customer wish to return one or more items he or she has purchased, the employee processing the return typically visually reviews the receipt looking for the item(s) the customer is returning and identifies each item to be returned. Typically, the employee then crosses the item(s) being returned off the receipt and marks the receipt “returned” or some similar notation next to each returned item. This procedure is designed to prevent a customer from returning a second identical item using the same receipt, such item having, for example, been taken from the store without being paid for. Thereafter, the store's computer system generates a return receipt that includes information identifying the credit card to which the return should be credited. The items being returned are entered into the computer to generate the return receipt, either manually or by scanning the bar code label on each returned item. When scanning the barcode label on each item being returned, the computer system to which the point of sale terminal's scanner is connected typically identifies the item returned from a database. The associated price to be credited to the customer charge account may be manually entered or scanned from the price tag.
The need for the employee to examine the original receipt to identify the item(s) being returned and visually mark them as “returned” is time consuming. It requires the employee to review numbers on the receipt and match them up with the number on the price ticket of each item being returned. In cases where multiple items were purchased (for example, six different pairs of gloves), and the purchaser wishes to return four pairs of the gloves, considerable time may be taken to identify which four of the six pairs of gloves listed on the receipt are to be returned. The time required for an employee to do this represents a significant expense to the retail store. Further, the retail store must have employees with sufficient skill to accurately follow the return procedure. Both the time and skill of employees required to do this can be major expenses, which increase the store's operating costs.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a system and method for processing customer returns which substantially reduces the time normally required by an employee to process a return. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system and method of processing returns that reduces the likelihood of a dishonest purchaser reusing his original receipt to return stolen merchandise. These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed specification and claims.